Commissioners to consider concealed permit resolution

Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 11:03 p.m.

When The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. printed names and addresses of concealed carry permit holders in their coverage area, it triggered a cry of outrage now being heard in government chambers across North Carolina.

The names, ages and addresses of permit holders are matters of public record, but may not stay so for long.

This month, the Gaston County Board of Commissioners was the first in the state to pass a resolution requesting the information be stricken from the annals of the state's public records. During a meeting Feb. 4, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners is set to consider the same resolution.

State legislators could ultimately make the decision — how much is too much information?

The Journal News published a map and list of gun permit holders in the two counties it serves in December. Critics said it did more harm than good, making targets out of law-abiding gun owners, or that it served no true purpose since guns may not necessarily be in the homes of the ones on the map. Some also argued that homes without guns may be targeted by criminals.

The publication also spurred a desire among some government leaders to remove permit holders' names and information from public records. Commissioners in Gaston County voted 6-0 to pass a resolution requesting state “legislation to exempt certain records of the sheriff's office from the Public Records Act.”

“Commissioner Tracy Philbeck sponsored the resolution, which will now be sent to the governor, local legislators and the state's 99 other county commissions in search of support,” the Gaston Gazette reported Jan. 24.

The Gazette said a bill has been drafted to exempt the information and may be introduced this legislative session. If passed, North Carolina would join 41 states that already exclude the information from public records.

The resolution is gaining support. Henderson County Attorney Russ Burrell said the resolution the local board plans to take up was born out of the “controversy in New York.”

“Bad examples make bad laws,” said Al Tompkins, a senior faculty member of The Poynter Institute for journalism. “Government officials often respond to news of the day with knee-jerk easy solutions that do nothing to address difficult problems. While this would likely be a popular decision in your town, ask if it would really serve democracy.

“A larger question is whether permits do what they are supposed to do,” he said. “In New York, for example, the permits serve little function. They do NOT tell you if your neighbor has a gun. They tell you if they have a permitted handgun in their name. It may not be at their house; they may have a safe full of assault weapons. You would not know it from the permit. So the permits may give us the notion we know things we do not know.”

“Journalists have an obligation to carefully use public data,” Tompkins added. “Just because the records are open does not make them newsworthy. But closing them is an easy overly simplistic solution.”

Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.

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